Empty 40 Gallon Long

[2ofEverything]

Hello everyone,
 
Although I'm not brand new to fish keeping this is the first forum I've signed up to in order to do things right. As a kid (I'm in my late teens now) I had owned many fish, and because of my negligence and my parents negligence I am sure most did not live a happy life. I've always had the typical 10 gallon aquarium and that was it, and because of poorly informed employees and my poorly informed parents stocking was always based on visual appeal of the fish rather than research. I'm sad to say there have been many fish that I had owned that needed an aquarium 10x as large...
 
Anyways, last year after getting a job (and not having an aquarium for nearly half a decade) I decided to do a saltwater aquarium. This time it would be done right, with proper stocking, cycling, filtration, water conditions etc. I'm sad to say I dropped a little over $2k and never got past cycling So now I'm sitting here with a fully cleaned (just got done cleaning) 40 gallon long, not a breeder but a long. Same footprint as a 55 gallon just shorter by 6 inches. I have a freshwater filter rated for 50 gallons, heater, gravel, protein skimmer, salt, water testing kit, and some other stuff. I also have enough brand new gravel to fill the tank.
 
So my question is what can I do with a 40 gallon long with the same footprint as a 55 gallon? I was thinking of doing one single JD but I keep seeing 55g as the minimum, however I'm also reading they don't use height as much so I'm wondering if a tank with the same footprint would suffice. If not I would be interested in doing a cichlid tank or a community tank (maybe) of some non predatory fish. I can't see myself doing a planted tank and I'm not concerned with stocking it to the max as I'd rather have clear water and do less water changes. 
 
Thanks in advance, sorry for the long read.
 
 
 
TL;DR 40 gallon long tank same footprint as 55 gallon only shorter want a cichlid tank or other community tank just not planted. Any ideas?

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi, and welcome to the forum
 
Could you post the dimensions of your tank, please? Not all the members here are from the US, and may not have any idea (I certainly don't!) what size tank you actually have; 'breeder' and 'long' mean nothing to me, being from the UK; plus our gallons are different sizes!
 
Do you know if your water is hard or soft? That's really important for us to know, as some fish prefer hard water, some soft, and neither sort do well in the 'wrong' kind of water. If you don't know, you should be able to look at your supplier's website and find out

 

[2ofEverything]

My apologies, 48.25"W x 12.75"L x 16"H or 122.5cm x 32.5cm x 40.5cm
 
I'm not sure if the water is hard or soft, but as I do have an RO/DI system that was meant to be used for the saltwater tank if that's any help. I'll see if I can find out.

 

[fluttermoth]

Thanks for the dimensions, that's a big help
 
Yes, do find out the hardness of your local water. It's much easier (and cheaper, in both time and trouble!) if you can use normal tap water.
 
RO water can't be used for fish on its own; you would need to add back some minerals anyway.

 

[2ofEverything]

Well turns out I have soft water. There's a chlorine filter hooked up to the piping in my house, so if everything is as promised my water should be very low in chlorine, if not completely void of it.

 

[Munroco]

Good news, it gives you a bigger choice, and better IMO. Nearly all South American fish and a lot from other parts prefer soft water. You mention cichlids and a community tank. You could do both. Dwarf cichlids, tetras, catfish.  Apistogramma's and Rams would suit as would nearly all the tetras, and as I'm biased a few corydora....

 

[AmtotheBurr]

I love cichlid tanks! They are colorful and hardy. Whatever you decide, keep us posted

 

[ricbea]

Have you made any further progress on this, I like following these stories from teh beginning they are very informative and the writer must feel a sense of completion when they have a fully set-up and running tank.